Participatory Research in Bolivia

MANAGEMENT OF DRAUGHT ANIMALS: PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH IN BOLIVIA B.G. Sims*, J.T. Dijkman and L. Zambrana Introduction The concept of PROMETA (Proyecto de Mejoramiento de Tracción Animal) has its roots in a preliminary project which investigated the problems associated with working animals that smallholder hillside farmers had in the inter-Andean valleys of Bolivia. Rather than suppose, from the outside, what the problems may be, a detailed study was conducted in close collaboration with the farm families. In the initial stages of the preliminary project, Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs) were conducted in six communities in three provinces of Cochabamba Department (Dijkman and Sims, 1997; Sims, et al., 1997). The PRAs lasted three weeks in each community and culminated in a workshop, in October 1996, to discuss the results and determine the characteristics of a possible program of participatory research. The workshop included representatives of possible future stakeholders (farmers, researchers, NGOs, development institutions) and its principal output was the formulation of a Participatory Research Project - PROMETA. The methodology of the Project and the initial advances have been written elsewhere (Sims et al., 1998) The aim now is to describe the results of the first research projects and to indicate the modifications that were made to our original plan of work. * speaker 38 Location The Project is based in the Center of Research, Training and Extension in Agricultural Mechanization (CIFEMA) of the San Simón University in Cochabamba. The work is carried out in six communities within the Department of Cochabamba (Figure 1) with the physical and climatic characteristics described in Table 1. Figure 1: Location of the Department of Cochabamba, Bolivia Capinota The communities of Capinota Province are characterized by silty alluvial soils in the valleys of the Arque River. Potato is the most important crop along with vegetables (carrots, garlic and onions). As the region has irrigation, two or sometimes three crops are possible annually. The size of family properties ranges between 0.2 and 7 ha, and some families manage flocks of goats and sheep in the neighbouring hills. The most common form of farm power is oxen (la yunta), although single horses and donkeys are used for light draught tasks (such as ridging vegetables) and tractors for initial soil cultivation. 39 Table 1: Characteristics of the six communities collaborating with PROMETA. Department of Cochabamba Rainfall Temperature Altitude Annual Annual Risk of Communities Province masl mm Months mean ˚C frost Sarcobamba and Sarco Kucho Capinota 2400 530 Nov - Mar 15 May - Jul Piusilla and San Isidro Ayopaya 3400 - 3800 650 Nov - Mar 15 May - Aug Kolque K’oya and Boquerón K’asa Tiraque 3580 530 Dec - Mar 11 May - Sept Ayopaya These communities are located in broken terrain over a range of altitudes. Potato is the most important crop and is always sown first in the rotation. Potato is followed by maize, oats and broad bean, according to the altitude and availability of irrigation. There is always a prolonged fallow period (up to eight years) after the crop rotation. Each family has 0.3 to 3 ha and, in addition, have access to communal areas of high puna for pasture and cultivation. Almost all families have their own yunta (oxen) for power and will also have donkeys and horses, principally for transport. Tiraque The communities of Tiraque are also on broken, hilly terrain, but not to the extent of Ayopaya. Here the rotation also starts with potato, followed by small cereals (oats or barley) and legumes (tarwi, Lupinus mutabilis, or broad bean). The areas with irrigation can produce two crops per year and each family has between 0.1 and 5 ha. Almost all families have donkeys and yuntas and about 10% also have horses for transport. Participatory Research On initiating the research program, the concerns and priorities of the farmers that had been identified in the 1996 workshop were taken into account. As PROMETA forms part of the UMSS, a series of thesis themes was formulated in the first period of consultative participation (Sims and Bentley, 1998). Nevertheless we saw that this methodology, whilst being ideal for thesis oriented research, was not so good at addressing fully the problems of the farmers and involving them in the research process (Bentley, 1998). The experimental designs, whilst taking place on-farm in full consultation with the farm families, were more allied to the norms of formal research. The work model that we have now adopted involves having the presence of field technicians in the communities for a complete week. The two technicians take and demonstrate the technologies being developed in PROMETA as a result of consultation with farmers. The presence of the technicians in the 40 communities for relatively long and pre-programmed periods facilitates the exchange of information, the refinement of practices and assures that the participation is collaborative. It would have been desirable to have included a Quechua speaking woman in the team, nevertheless we are putting emphasis on including the views of women in the evaluations of the technologies, and on incorporating their ideas in future themes for research. Results The research in progress covers three broad areas of work relating to working animals: ➢ Animal health; ➢ Equipment and harnesses; ➢ Animal nutrition. In the following sections we describe the principal achievements to date. Animal health As a result of the workshop where a lack of veterinary services for the communities was identified, a study was commissioned on the need and priorities of animal health (de Roover, 1997). During this study it was identified that, thanks to the initiatives of the NGOs, ASAR and CIPCA, the situation on the supply of veterinary services had already been considerably improved in some communities since the workshop. This had been achieved through programs of training para-veterinaries. Nevertheless, the achievements of the NGO initiatives do not cover the whole of Cochabamba Department. Consequently PROMETA financed the training of veterinary technicians (through a CIPCA program) in the Project’s communities that to date had not had access to these services. A further recommendation of the study was the need to improve and increase the equipment and medicines for the para- veterinaries already providing a service, through the establishment of veterinary pharmacies. In 1998, in collaboration with the Carrera Veterinaria of UMSS, PROMETA initiated two degree theses focusing attention on parasites (both internal and external). The infestation by different classes of parasites is the most prevalent problem of working animals, affecting their health, nutrition and performance. One research theme is the identification and determination of the parasitic load on working animals (bovines and equines) in the different seasons of the year. Further work will compare the efficacy and profitability of a range of commercial parasite control products. The second research theme will study the importance of different intermediaries in the transmission of parasites to working animals and will compare the efficacy of traditional natural medicines with commercial products. These studies are yet to be approved and at the moment there is no further information. Equipment and harnesses A priority identified by farmers is the diversification of the use of their working animals. Many farmers have equines (donkeys and horses) that are principally used for transport. In collaboration with Frank Inns, PROMETA has developed and evaluated a line of light- 41 weight equipment for single equines together with high-lift harnesses all locally manufactured (Inns, 1998). It is important to remember that the combination of light equipment and high-lift harnesses is advisable in order to take advantage of the reduction in draught force produced by the high pull angle. In a thesis study, Julio César Antezana has tested the work produced by horses and donkeys with different harnessing arrangements on a circular test track. The track comprises a central pivot with an arm attached to a sledge which can be loaded with weights and so vary the draught force required by the animal (Figure 2). Three types of harness were compared: ➢ A collar harness consisting of a leather covered metal or wooden collar connected to the traces and swingle tree; ➢ A traditional harness comprising a breast band connected to wooden traces with wooden separators; ➢ A high-lift harness. Figure 2: The test track for single equines pulling a variable load with different harnessing arrangements A full day was worked with each type of harness (6 hr for the horse and 4 hr for the donkey) under a regime of 30 minutes of work followed by 10 minutes of rest. The load was increased each day until the animal started to display symptoms of fatigue. Figure 3 shows that the high lift harness not only demanded less draught force for a determined load on the sledge, but also allowed the animal to work for a greater number of days without becoming over-tired. Similar results were obtained with both horses and donkeys. The most important evaluations are those carried out by the farmers themselves, and this is being done in Capinota and Ayopaya. The harnessing arrangements described were used together with the new light-weight implements. The trials (which followed procedures 42 described by Smith et al., 1994) showed that the high-lift harness and new implements were superior. The success

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